Jade Alexander was standing in the middle of a thinly veiled hostile environment.

On one side of the room, her parents were standing with Regulus and his parents, watching the Ministry official expectantly as he poked and prodded her with his wand, doing various test.

On the other side of the room stood Sirius and 'Mr. Potter', who she happened to know was just James with an Aging Potion, who was acting as his 'guardian and legal counsel', which she figured Remus had told him to say when they arrived.

There was something in Orion Black's eyes that suggested to Jade that he was both furious and bewildered that James's 'father' had gotten involved.

"Are you nearly finished?" Orion snapped finally, breaking the silence that had pervaded the already-awkward atmosphere since the official had begun the tests.

The Ministry man blinked up at Regulus's father for a moment, pausing his prodding as if trying to remember whether or not he was nearly finished. Finally, he said, "Just one more, Mr. Black. Testing her maidenhead."

She could see Sirius and Regulus both tense, and she thought she might have even seen Orion Black wince and his hand to flicker toward his wand. He didn't do anything, though, and the test went on exactly as it had when Sirius had done it. The man smiled.

"There," he said. "Finished. She is perfectly eligible. No health concerns, able to bear children, and she's a maiden."

Orion Black blinked.

"I told you," Regulus muttered under his breath.

"Should we negotiate the claims, then?" the Ministry man said eagerly, conjuring a table behind Jade, presumably over the negotiation for her hand in marriage, but Sirius smiled slightly.

"Actually, I thank you for your time, sir," Sirius said in his smug way, "but I've changed my mind. Regulus can have her."

Before anyone in the room not privy to the plan had a chance to register exactly what had just happened, Sirius and James-as-father were out the door.

"He always was a strange boy," Walburga muttered darkly. "What was the point of that?"

"Father," Regulus said nervously. "I... I actually was hoping we could discuss pushing back the wedding date, in light of... circumstances?"

Orion blinked, still staring after where Sirius had left.

"What?" he muttered, not turning his gaze. "Oh, yes, wedding date. It's not urgent."

"No," Regulus said softly. "Perhaps we could wait until we're graduated, then, as originally planned?"

"Fine, fine," Orion muttered. "That will do just fine."

Jade knew he was trying to figure out what Sirius's purpose had been, and she wished in her heart that he never found out, although she didn't have much energy for wishing, so relieved she was at having the wedding date restored to after graduation, that she was finally feeling the release of all the anxiety that had been pent up inside of her.

Regulus wrapped her hand up in his, smiling at her. Everything was going to be all right, she told herself. Everything was going to be fine.

The cold winds came to Hogwarts and the snow followed soon after. Regulus and Jade had both gotten permission from their families to stay at Hogwarts, saying that they wanted to study, and that prefects were needed over the holiday, which was true. But it wasn't why they were staying.

They literally had the Slytherin common room to themselves.

Other Hufflepuffs had stayed, but Regulus had been the only Slytherin, so they spent much of their time curled up together on one of the black leather couches, watching the fire glow in the strange green light that permeated the room from nowhere and everywhere at once.

A few nights before Christmas, Jade was watching the fire play while Regulus drew shapes on her back through the fabric of her thin sweater.

"I have something to ask you," he whispered.

"Mmm-hmm."

He moved her hair over her left shoulder and pressed his lips to the back of her neck briefly, firmly, before saying, "I want you to stay the night with me."

Jade blinked.

Hadn't all their problems been caused by his father just thinking they'd done just that, much less actually doing it? What was Regulus thinking?

She must have tensed, because Regulus hastily said, "Not... not like that. I just meant... Well, you don't have any friends in Hufflepuff anyway, and I'd really like to hold you. Just... just staying in a bed together. Nothing you don't want to do and... and not that. We can't risk it again."

"No," Jade said sadly. "We can't."

There was a moment of silence between them as Jade realized he might take what she said as turning down his request for her to stay, which wasn't what she'd meant at all.

"I mean, we can't... risk..."

She began to babble as the blush of her utter embarrassment filled her cheeks and probably colored her neck as well.

"Does that... does that disappoint you?" he said in a forced-casual voice that she could tell was just dripping with curiosity.

Biting her lip and closing her eyes as his fingers continued to trace shapes on her back, she nodded, feeling herself blush even deeper, knowing that she wanted to feel his skin on her skin again, like in the passageway.

But the temptation could get the best of them, Jade reminded herself. It was best not to go there.

Regulus whispered, "Me too," and his fingers began tracing lower and lower on her back until they reached the hem of her sweater. "So," he said slowly, whispering in her ear, "are you staying tonight?"

She was opening her mouth, although she wasn't entirely sure what answer would have come out, but before she had a chance to decide on words his fingers, cold compared with her wool-warmed skin, slipped underneath the hem of her sweater and began tracing up the way they'd come, under the fabric instead of over.

Jade let out a gasp of surprise, and decided she liked it. By the time he reached the middle of her back, her mouth was saying that she would stay before the rest of her had really processed anything.

Regulus led her into is room moments later, gray eyes dark with an expression she decided must be desire.

The rooms were similar in decor to the common room, and the beds had emerald green hangings with silver trim, dark ebony wood everywhere around her, and the candle ignited more of the strange green glow that the common room had, only darker because the flame of the candle was much smaller than the fire in the fireplace.

Jade looked up at Regulus, whose eyes looked even hungrier in the strange green light as they drank her in, his hands reaching out to the hem of her sweater. She thought he was probably going to put his hands under it again, but her instinct had other plans, and she lifted her arms up. Taking the hint, Regulus's shaking hands gripped the hem and pulled the sweater off over her head.

Of course, as sweaters did, this made her hair full of static and it stood up at odd angles when he tossed the sweater aside, drinking in her body, pale skin reflecting in the green light. She saw him lick his lips slightly and she was sure he wasn't aware he did it, but it boosted her confidence slightly. Regulus took a step forward, smoothed down some of her hair, and pressed his lips hungrily to hers.

Was this her? Had she been the one who had awakened this hunger in him?

If so, she was proud of herself, and desperate to do more of it. Without really thinking about what she was doing, she pulled at his sweater, parting the kiss to pull it over his head and toss it aside.

It wasn't so different, the green light from the dim light in the passage from Hogsmeade. She could see more of him at once like this, and when she ran her fingers across his skin she thought that the green light almost suited the contours of his chest: He was a noble, pureblood Slytherin, covered in the light of the lake. Jade bit her lip.

Her parents had named her after a precious green stone in the assumption that she would be a Slytherin as well, as all her family had been for as long as anyone remembered.

Regulus didn't give Jade much time to consider the colors they might have named her after, because he pulled her in for another kiss, unzipping her skirt and letting it fall to her ankles. Jade jumped with surprise. She felt oddly uneven, though, feeling the fabric of his trousers against her skin. It just felt like the right thing to do, unzipping his trousers, unbuttoning the button, pushing it down over his hips, watching him step out of it.

Jade was surprised for a moment at how muscular his legs were, but then she recalled Quidditch and smiled into his kiss. That, and the feel of his fingers gripping her body to his, the surprising way she felt her body reacting to this, and the way she could feel his body reacting to hers.

"Oh, Merlin," he gasped when their lips finally parted. "This could get out of hand very quickly," he intoned, leading her over to the bed she assumed was his. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Do you... do you want me to leave?" she asked, hoping he would say no.

"Not on your life," he said in a voice that could have easily belonged to his brother, but somehow when Regulus was saying things like that it made her knees collapse.

He helped her onto the bed, hovering over her as he climbed onto the bed, his mouth lingering just above her neck.

Jade gasped as he lowered his weight onto her slightly, his skin pressing against her skin with naught but a few flimsy pieces of fabric as barriers between them. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him as close as she could as his lips touched to her neck, renewing sensations that she'd not felt properly since his father had caught them.

She shivered pleasantly as his lips trailed down from her neck, exploring much of her bared skin, kissing around the fabric, although each time he neared the barriers to the rest of her skin, she could feel the heat in her core burn just a bit hotter, and she sighed with disappointment when he skipped over the areas altogether.

If it felt this good for her, surely he would enjoy it at least a little, so as he was kissing her knees tenderly, Jade sat up, trying to decide how best to explore Regulus's skin. She got onto her knees, thus taking her legs out of Regulus's reach and he looked up at her, confused.

"Lay down," she said softly, unsure of her own voice. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was silly?

Still, he watched her with curious gray eyes as he turned over and lay back on the bed, displaying his muscular body to her in the dim green light of the room. Swallowing sharply, Jade leaned down over him and pressed her lips to his collarbone experimentally, as he had done to her collarbone, but more tentative than he had. Regulus tangled his fingers up in her hair as she explored the skin and warmth of his torso with her mouth, teeth, and tongue. He gasped when she neared his nipples, so she figured boys must have them for some sort of sexual reason, and that his were as sensitive as hers could be. He also got a bit short of breath when she got to his belly button, and when she noticed this she ran her tongue around the circle on his stomach, noting the strangeness of the texture of his skin with the light dusting of hair that trailed right through his belly button and down into his pants.

"Jade," he whimpered, "we need to stop or I'm not going to be able to stop."

At first, her brain couldn't comprehend what he meant, but then she realized that he was saying that unless they stopped right away, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't lose control and that she really would lose her virginity right then and there.

And they couldn't have that, not yet.

Disappointed, she backed away from his body, shivering a little at the lack of warmth from the contact. Regulus sighed, crawling under the covers and motioning for Jade to follow him, which she did, smiling a bit in spite of herself as she felt him wrap his warm arms around her body before leaning over to blow out the candle that had been casting the eerie light across the room. She nestled her head against his chest, sighing.

"I love you," he whispered. "That's why I stopped us. You understand, don't you?"

"I do," Jade breathed back. "But... but I wanted more."

She could feel heat pooling in her cheeks with her boldness at saying as much out loud, and she was glad he'd put the candle out.

"Me too," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead and caressing her side gently with his thumb. "Someday, Jade, we'll get to do whatever we want together, and nobody will be able to tell us there's anything wrong with it." His other hand ran through her hair gently. "And nobody - nobody - but me is ever going to touch you."

The rage in his voice was very thinly veiled, and she realized just how terrified he was that Lucius would find some other way to outwit them. She was a bit afraid of it too, but she just wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his warm neck and feeling the heat of his body as it pressed against hers.

"Nobody else but you ever could," she whispered, although she knew that if Lucius wanted, he could find a way.

And he did want it, and he probably would find a way, but until that came up she didn't want to think of it. Perhaps it was impractical of her, but Jade Alexander didn't want to dwell on the possibility of Lucius hatching another plan, not at that moment in Regulus's arms.

"Do you think we'll be happy?" she said against his skin, thinking of her own parents and wondering if they had been happy in their married life. She knew it hadn't been one of the expectations of marriage that her mother had prepared her for, but suddenly it seemed very important. She wanted to be happy with Regulus, to have children and have them be happy and safe from the war that was brewing on the horizon of the future.

Sirius seemed like a more-or-less happy person, but Jade knew instinctively that she couldn't be happy with him. She couldn't say what it was exactly that was so different between the Black brothers... Perhaps it was that she wasn't so comfortable with how bold Sirius could be, or that she appreciated how Regulus seemed to read her moods with more ease than she herself could. Regulus paid attention to her, whereas Sirius had never really seen her, just the flashes of her that he liked best.

The only thing that Sirius had ever had over Regulus was assertiveness. Jade never would have typically cared about such a thing, but after everything Lucius had already put her through, an assertive and powerful husband to protect her looked like a fairly attractive bonus. Instead, she would have an assertive and powerful brother-in-law who her husband would never really trust and who both of her family and her husband's family wouldn't want anything to do with.

"I love you," she whispered, realizing that he must have fallen asleep when he didn't answer her question, and she ran her fingers through his hair lovingly. "I don't know what's coming next, but I do know that."

And she did love him. She loved the way his head felt on her breast. She loved that she was going to marry him.

What she didn't love was the unknowns that seemed to surround them and threaten them at every turn, but she supposed that she was put in Hufflepuff for a reason: she wouldn't turn away from him for fear. She was too loyal to leave when the waters got too high or the fires too hot. She would always find a way to stay with him, because she had made him promises and he needed her.

Regulus turned slightly and muttered in his sleep something that sounded eerily like Jade's name.

Jade wondered, as her eyes began to fluttered closed with sleep, if he usually dreamed of her, or if there was some lingering thing in his subconscious because of what they had just done. Would she have heard him mutter her name on any other night? Did Sirius mutter her name in his sleep?

She thought that Sirius might. Jade's fingers ran through Regulus's hair as she mused over whether it was important, any of it. Regulus loved her. Jade loved Regulus. Sirius could say her name in his sleep all he wanted, but it wouldn't change a thing.

And it was then that Jade fell asleep not realizing the bit of Slytherin she did have in her. In a way, she wanted Sirius to keep saying her name in his sleep, not because she wanted him, not because she would ever leave Regulus, but because she knew somewhere in her that as long as he was whispering her name feverishly in his sleep, he would answer every time she called for help.

And she would need his help. She would need him to be the strength Regulus couldn't be. If Jade Alexander had thought about it, if she could have had her way, she would have married both Black brothers, one because she loved him, and one because he loved her.